- Location
- West Jordan
No, you would be aspiring to be mediocre...
Project Hundy Build Thread - 2000 UZJ100 Land Cruiser
- Thread starter cruiseroutfit
- Start date
-
- Tags
- build thread
No, you would be aspiring to be mediocre...
- Location
- Never Far From Nowhere
Ah, yes. Well, I'll continue being unique and not aspire to be anything else, then.
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
Unique... love it.
Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
Yeah, unique is a good.. summary. I've seen the 100-series light, it is brilliant and beautiful! though for me the 105 shines a bit brighter, and more distant. 
The 100-Series is an excellent, nearly perfect travelling vehicle, with levels of comfort, capacity, and capability pretty much unequaled by any of its contemporaries. And I say that as a Toyota outsider.
The 100-Series is an excellent, nearly perfect travelling vehicle, with levels of comfort, capacity, and capability pretty much unequaled by any of its contemporaries. And I say that as a Toyota outsider.
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
Death Star Part# 7: Follow-Up & Future Plans
Lets start with the name, Death Star. I don't really hurry to name a new vehicle or any of my vehicles for that matter but eventually they end up with a nickname one way or another. Most seem to get dubbed by friends, love it or hate it. While sitting on a beach in San Felipe, MX before the start of the Baja 1000 the discussion revolved back to the names of Land Cruisers. Between the dozen of us on the beach were the better of 50 past and current named Land Cruisers, all with their own story to tell. Before long "Millennium Death Star Chicken Hawk Falcon", it became the running joke to add another word into the mix hence the long-winded verse. Well, it turns out Paul May's 100 Series was often jokingly dubbed the Millennium Falcon so he suggested the Death Star. It stuck.
The first real road test for the post-build 100 Series was the ~1000 mile round trip from Salt Lake City to SEMA in Las Vegas. ***While this trip would be entirely on pavement, it would offer a reliable test of many of the installed components. Particularly important was the general road handling, I wanted to know what I could expect from the vehicle in its now outfitted and weight laden form. Given the fact our Baja 1000 trip would be around 4500 miles round trip, much of the route on dirt, I wanted to have plenty of time to adjust and tune any items before the big trip. As I optimistically expected, there were zero notable issues with the truck and it was time to start packing. As I noted earlier on in the thread the entire build premise for this vehicle was to serve as a chase vehicle for our desert racing pursuits. Well, that was the motivation to get it done but the truth is I was looking for something a little bigger to replace my Tacoma and the 100 fit the bill. With the build behind us, the truck packed, four gents, and gear loaded into the 100, it was time for Baja. The Baja 1000 race is a story for another thread but the 100 performed perfectly. We rallied the 100 up and down the Baja peninsula, often along sections of the race track chasing the action. It soaked up the nastiest washboard roads, floated over the sandy beaches and powered up and down the long grades back to Utah. One of the most notable impressions I can relay about long distance driving in the 100's lack of driver fatigue. I absolutely love driving my similarly built Tacoma but I feel like a 12 hour day behind the wheel would leave me somewhat jaded. Whereas I think I could do the same drive in the 100 and come out a bit more on the spruce side? Combine the additional space, smooth handling and much decreased road noise and I think I'm really going to like this rig in the years to come.
So the build has been complete for for over 6 months now, what do I plan to do next?
Gearing: Still on the fence here. I don't often feel like it is under geared in fact even heavily loaded it still moves up the canyons. However I think the gears could get the shift points back where they belong and perhaps pick up a little extra fuel economy. Who am I kidding, the extra ooomph would be nice. That said I did recently pick up a new-in-box TRD Supercharger for the 2UZFE, perhaps that will seal the fate on the re-gear conundrum?
Additional Fuel Capacity: The factory setup offers a fair fuel range however long road trips really have me wanting additional fuel capacity. As luck would have it a friend pointed me to a Front Runner 16 gallon auxiliary tank that had never been installed. It is now sitting in the shop waiting for a slow day. While there are bigger options on the market that I would prefer, the price was right with this one and 16 gallons will be a welcome addition.
Follow-up projects: There were several items I addressed after the build was complete. Obviously it needed an alignment, Big-O supplied not only the tires but they did a solid job on the alignment, it runs smooth and true even at what some might consider excessive speeds. I didn't have my communication equipment lined up for the initial build weekend but they were installed shortly thereafter. After minor delegation I installed a Kenwood dual band HAM and Cobra CB, similar setups to those in my other vehicles although a much more modern HAM.
With that said I'm done. I'll continue to maintain and upgrade things as needed but I simply plan to continue to use it. Feel free to holler if you have any questions or ideas for the build, I'll do my best to answer and of course I'm always up for pointers or suggestions.
Time lapse build video coming shortly In the meantime, more pics
Lets start with the name, Death Star. I don't really hurry to name a new vehicle or any of my vehicles for that matter but eventually they end up with a nickname one way or another. Most seem to get dubbed by friends, love it or hate it. While sitting on a beach in San Felipe, MX before the start of the Baja 1000 the discussion revolved back to the names of Land Cruisers. Between the dozen of us on the beach were the better of 50 past and current named Land Cruisers, all with their own story to tell. Before long "Millennium Death Star Chicken Hawk Falcon", it became the running joke to add another word into the mix hence the long-winded verse. Well, it turns out Paul May's 100 Series was often jokingly dubbed the Millennium Falcon so he suggested the Death Star. It stuck.
The first real road test for the post-build 100 Series was the ~1000 mile round trip from Salt Lake City to SEMA in Las Vegas. ***While this trip would be entirely on pavement, it would offer a reliable test of many of the installed components. Particularly important was the general road handling, I wanted to know what I could expect from the vehicle in its now outfitted and weight laden form. Given the fact our Baja 1000 trip would be around 4500 miles round trip, much of the route on dirt, I wanted to have plenty of time to adjust and tune any items before the big trip. As I optimistically expected, there were zero notable issues with the truck and it was time to start packing. As I noted earlier on in the thread the entire build premise for this vehicle was to serve as a chase vehicle for our desert racing pursuits. Well, that was the motivation to get it done but the truth is I was looking for something a little bigger to replace my Tacoma and the 100 fit the bill. With the build behind us, the truck packed, four gents, and gear loaded into the 100, it was time for Baja. The Baja 1000 race is a story for another thread but the 100 performed perfectly. We rallied the 100 up and down the Baja peninsula, often along sections of the race track chasing the action. It soaked up the nastiest washboard roads, floated over the sandy beaches and powered up and down the long grades back to Utah. One of the most notable impressions I can relay about long distance driving in the 100's lack of driver fatigue. I absolutely love driving my similarly built Tacoma but I feel like a 12 hour day behind the wheel would leave me somewhat jaded. Whereas I think I could do the same drive in the 100 and come out a bit more on the spruce side? Combine the additional space, smooth handling and much decreased road noise and I think I'm really going to like this rig in the years to come.
So the build has been complete for for over 6 months now, what do I plan to do next?
Gearing: Still on the fence here. I don't often feel like it is under geared in fact even heavily loaded it still moves up the canyons. However I think the gears could get the shift points back where they belong and perhaps pick up a little extra fuel economy. Who am I kidding, the extra ooomph would be nice. That said I did recently pick up a new-in-box TRD Supercharger for the 2UZFE, perhaps that will seal the fate on the re-gear conundrum?
Additional Fuel Capacity: The factory setup offers a fair fuel range however long road trips really have me wanting additional fuel capacity. As luck would have it a friend pointed me to a Front Runner 16 gallon auxiliary tank that had never been installed. It is now sitting in the shop waiting for a slow day. While there are bigger options on the market that I would prefer, the price was right with this one and 16 gallons will be a welcome addition.
Follow-up projects: There were several items I addressed after the build was complete. Obviously it needed an alignment, Big-O supplied not only the tires but they did a solid job on the alignment, it runs smooth and true even at what some might consider excessive speeds. I didn't have my communication equipment lined up for the initial build weekend but they were installed shortly thereafter. After minor delegation I installed a Kenwood dual band HAM and Cobra CB, similar setups to those in my other vehicles although a much more modern HAM.
With that said I'm done. I'll continue to maintain and upgrade things as needed but I simply plan to continue to use it. Feel free to holler if you have any questions or ideas for the build, I'll do my best to answer and of course I'm always up for pointers or suggestions.
Time lapse build video coming shortly In the meantime, more pics
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Very nice, I love that thing.
How is the gearing & RPM's at speed, where is the engine running? Our 4.7-powered 4Runner ran around as super low RPM's and IIRC it had 3.73 gears. I can't imagine the engine running any lower RPM and feeling decently powerful with 35's.
How is the gearing & RPM's at speed, where is the engine running? Our 4.7-powered 4Runner ran around as super low RPM's and IIRC it had 3.73 gears. I can't imagine the engine running any lower RPM and feeling decently powerful with 35's.
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
I'd have to take a look next time I drive it, it drives nice enough I haven't gone out of my way to look at the tach
The early 100 like mine did come with 4.30 gears versus the 4.10 of the later models.
The early 100 like mine did come with 4.30 gears versus the 4.10 of the later models.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
That may make all the difference in the world, with 4.30 gears. Our 4Runner with 3.73's was very long legged... it would still scoot when on the throttle, but you could tell it was geared for the highway. If your possible plan is to change to 4.88's and you already have 4.30's, the difference between the 2 is hardly enough to justify the cost and effort, IMO. The 4.88's would probably help you hold OD better on hilly freeways, which would slightly help MPG's, but I don't see it making that big of a difference. Have you noticed the UZJ dropping out of OD on long climbs on the freeway?
The idea of the supercharger with 4.30 gears has the potential to make a pretty balanced vehicle, IMO... should provide enough boost at lower RPM's to make up any lack of gearing. It would be interesting to see what happened with MPG's and the supercharger. More than likely they'd drop, but some small displacement V8's with boost actually pick up mileage since they don't have to spin into the higher RPM's to get moving.
The idea of the supercharger with 4.30 gears has the potential to make a pretty balanced vehicle, IMO... should provide enough boost at lower RPM's to make up any lack of gearing. It would be interesting to see what happened with MPG's and the supercharger. More than likely they'd drop, but some small displacement V8's with boost actually pick up mileage since they don't have to spin into the higher RPM's to get moving.
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
You hit the nail on the head Greg. I'm going to reserve judgement for post SC install
I'd have to take a look next time I drive it, it drives nice enough I haven't gone out of my way to look at the tach
The early 100 like mine did come with 4.30 gears versus the 4.10 of the later models.
Are these 100 series gears/diffs compatible with 4th gen 4runners? When I was looking to build my 03 runner I found it hard to find after market gearing that was not 4.88's.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
You hit the nail on the head Greg. I'm going to reserve judgement for post SC install
Awesome! I may have to hit you up for a ride, post supercharger install.
I've always wondered how the 4.7 would respond to boost, since they seem to have decent torque down low, but pull hard in the mid to top end.
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
No, the Land Cruiser rear diff is a 9.5" and the front is a high pinion 8", similar gearing design as the earlier 80 Series. The 4Runner uses the V6 style 8" rear diff and a clamshell front. For the LC you can get 4.11, 4.30, 4.56, 4.88 and 5.29. For the newer 4Runner/Taco/FJC I've only seen 4.56 and 4.88 options for aftermarket gearing.
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
Awesome! I may have to hit you up for a ride, post supercharger install.
For sure!
I've got a couple of customers/friends with SC'd 2UZ's but I haven't had a chance to drive one more than around the block. I'm really interested to know how it will pull something like Parley's when fully laden for a trip. I'm a little worried about the trans and bottom end but we shall see. My Tacoma's SC has been fairly troublefree, a couple minor issues but if I had it to do over I'd absolutely stay SC'ed. Curious to see if I'll have the same experience with the 100.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
not apples for apples, but I had a 4runner with 4.30s and going to 4.88s made a huge difference. It was definitely worth the cost on that rig ('2000 3.4L). I'm not sure how much different it would have felt with the 4.7L V8 though.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I think the difference of the 3.4l and the 4.7l are pretty big, considering torque... it also depends on the OD ratio, since they're different transmissions. The smaller engine would need more gearing, of course. Vehicle weight also comes into play... lots of factors need to be considered. Since Kurt is pretty happy with the 4.30 gears and is considering a supercharger, the 4.88's don't seem necessary. What we were talking about originally was the gearing difference between the 4Runner with a 4.7 and the Land Cruiser with a 4.7 and the factory ratios.
When I worked at a parts shop (Hot Rods & Muscle Cars) we advised people NOT to make a gear change (in general) if it was a .50 or so change in ratio. There isn't enough difference there... .75+ yes, usually a full 1 point was recommended. In Kurts case with 4.30 gears, that would be 5.29's which would probably be too steep overall. Since the 4.30's seem OK and there is a supercharger in the future, I think leaving them is the right call.
If you're going for fine tuning and have a specific reason and a target RPM, like with a diesel and a low RPM range... then do what you want.
Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
I'll be curious to hear the post-boost review. As I recall, performance was adequate but underwhelming and we both opined at the time that more power would be swell.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
I think the difference of the 3.4l and the 4.7l are pretty big, considering torque... it also depends on the OD ratio, since they're different transmissions. The smaller engine would need more gearing, of course. Vehicle weight also comes into play... lots of factors need to be considered. Since Kurt is pretty happy with the 4.30 gears and is considering a supercharger, the 4.88's don't seem necessary. What we were talking about originally was the gearing difference between the 4Runner with a 4.7 and the Land Cruiser with a 4.7 and the factory ratios.
When I worked at a parts shop (Hot Rods & Muscle Cars) we advised people NOT to make a gear change (in general) if it was a .50 or so change in ratio. There isn't enough difference there... .75+ yes, usually a full 1 point was recommended. In Kurts case with 4.30 gears, that would be 5.29's which would probably be too steep overall. Since the 4.30's seem OK and there is a supercharger in the future, I think leaving them is the right call.
If you're going for fine tuning and have a specific reason and a target RPM, like with a diesel and a low RPM range... then do what you want.
agreed on all counts, especially if he's getting a supercharger.
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
And now that the build thread has reached the end of the 48 hour build weekend topics. Time for the video
[video=youtube;hAYlUgfQLLw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAYlUgfQLLw[/video]
Big thanks to my pal Jason for capturing all the footage of the build before and during. The post build pictures are courtesy of my pals in Canguro Racing and some of my own shots. And last but not least Steve from Stan Productions here in Utah for the editing and compilation of the video. Started in 2013, Stan Productions is a film company dedicated to creative short videos that highlight companies, product, and projects. If your interested in having them help with a project, I'll vouch for them. Contact them direct @ stanfilmproduction@gmail.com
Well, what do you think?
[video=youtube;hAYlUgfQLLw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAYlUgfQLLw[/video]
Big thanks to my pal Jason for capturing all the footage of the build before and during. The post build pictures are courtesy of my pals in Canguro Racing and some of my own shots. And last but not least Steve from Stan Productions here in Utah for the editing and compilation of the video. Started in 2013, Stan Productions is a film company dedicated to creative short videos that highlight companies, product, and projects. If your interested in having them help with a project, I'll vouch for them. Contact them direct @ stanfilmproduction@gmail.com
Well, what do you think?
- Location
- Sandy, Ut